Re: Biblical Interpretation Reconsidered

William Hamilton wrote:
>
> On Tuesday, December 23, 2003, at 10:56 AM, Jay Willingham wrote:
>
> > Amen and amen.
> >
> > Good debate is of great value as well.
> >
> > Merry Christmas!
> >
> >
> I have always regarded ASA as being one of the few venues in
> Christianity where an issue that _ought_ to be debated by Christians
> but generally isn't for fears of "divisiveness" can be debated. And
> generally the debate proceeds in Christian love. I would like to
> preserve this -- I believe it's valuable. So I would oppose ASA taking
> an official stance on evolution.

        My hesitatnt suggestion was not that ASA consider endorsing evolution but that
it consider rejecting YEC.
        I was & am hesitant about that for several reasons. The age of the earth is not
of fundamental theological importance & I certainly do not want to deny the Christian
faith of those who think that the world is 6000 years old or label them heretics. It
would be unfortunate for the organization to take a stand on this one scientific issue
while allowing for diversity on many others. A person who accepts the organization's
Statement of Faith & has a degree in a scientific field but who thinks that the earth is
flat could be an ASA member. Why not a YEC? (IMO the levels of preposterousness are
about the same.)
        So why make the suggestion? I did this in response to posts that suggest - & I
agree - that YEC is a growing threat to scientific integrity and serious dialogue
between science and Christian theology. It presents a totally unnecessary scandal which
blocks the way to serious consideration of the Christian faith for many intelligent
people. ASA is one science-religion organization which, because of its history &
composition, has a chance of making a significant impact on the churches & individuals
most influenced by YEC. & so it seems worthwhile to ask if it should be trying to exert
that influence in ways more explicit than its present policies allow.
        I tossed this out for consideration, but I am still hesitant & think it would be
too bad if we had to take this step.

                                                        Shalom,
                                                        George

George L. Murphy
gmurphy@raex.com
http://web.raex.com/~gmurphy/
Received on Tue Dec 23 12:45:49 2003